Zathras' Great Machine

In other news...

Yes, the great experiment is underway again... as Mark Twain once wryly remarked, "Quitting smoking is easy. I've done it thousands of times". I haven't reached the thousands mark yet, but as of yesterday, the number of attempts has increased by one.

I won't give up my hookah -- I love it far too much, and considering that I smoke it on average, only about four or five times a year, I'm going to conveniently pretend that there are no health risks involved (even though Denise has sent me research indicating that that's not the case). However, I am, once again, trying to go without cigarettes. I figure this is as good a time to try it as any. Late Monday night, I realized that I had only three left, and since I haven't been inclined to leave the house lately (which obviously means I can't buy any more), I figured I might as well use whatever circumstances I can to my advantage. So I finished the pack on Monday night and haven't had any since.

I'm getting nicotine cravings -- faint, not very strong, but other than that, the effect has been the opposite of what is typically reported. I'm already finding myself feeling calmer, less nervous, less irritable, less edgy. (For a while now, cigarettes have actually produced nervousness and irritation in me, rather than quelling it -- no idea why, but there it is.) I'm not leaving the house again until Friday at the earliest, maybe not even then, so I'm hoping that getting thru the next few days will give me a good start. The first few days are supposed to be the hardest.